Draft night is now almost a week passed and we have heard plenty of analysis from experts around the country. We were building up to this Draft for months with analysis and articles in the weeks prior, so it seemed appropriate that we get a little live-diary going for the evening’s festivities.

Granted a little late but we wanted to give our readers an inside look at our thoughts as NBA teams built towards the future.

Plus, we all write in our own personal diaries every night anyways, might as well be productive with it.

Without further adieu, let’s get the ball rolling, shall we?

5:12 – Three team trade between the Bobcats, Bucks, and Kings has destroyed our mock draft less than 2 hours before the draft. Hope you liked it (Giblin)

6:08 – Just saw that Jeff Van Gundy will be on ESPN’s broadcast team. What’s the point of watching the draft on mute? Damnit. (Giblin)

6:10 – No love for Van Gundy, Giblin? Come on man. You more of a Mark Jackson guy? (Mayo)

6:55 – Dick Vitale covering this draft makes me sick as well. Every player is gonna be aweseome baby! God I hate the ABC/ESPN NCAA guys almost as much as the NBA guys. (Giblin)

7:15 – Bilas and John Barry are the guys to listen to tonight. Best knowledge, analysis, and straight-forwardness. Ignore the idiot in the middle. (Giblin)

7:27 – When did Fran Fraschilla become an expert on international prospects? Are you an expert if you attend one or two workouts? I might be applying for that position. (Giblin)

7:34 – Has any commissioner ever gotten a cheer from the fans when he first steps up to the podium? (Giblin)

7:35 – Only cheers tonight will be reserved for Adam Silver.. (Mayo)

7:39 – 1 for 1 in our mock! Should we stop this on a high note ala George Costanza? (Giblin)

7:42 – Is it me or do Kyrie Irving’s highlights not blow you away? He’s definitely a skilled player but athletically I find myself not being overly impressed. (Mayo)

7:46 – No suprise with Williams at number 2 but who knows if David Kahn and Minnesota keep him. And now Utah up with the most pivotal pick in the draft. I’m shotgunning a beer if it’s not Knight. (Giblin)

7: 48 – It seems like things are shifting to Kanter being the pick, but I don’t understand it. They have Jefferson, Milsap,and Favors up front. I think Kanter is at least the third best player in this draft, but a) there is no guarantee they get Jimmer at 12, and b) their backcourt is disheveled to say the least. Devin Harris is just OK, and they have nothing at the two spot. (Mayo)

7:51 – That sucked. Anyway, the chances for Jimmer to end up playing in Utah shot up 3000%. (Giblin)

8:06 – Jonas Valunicius (sp) said he was like Chris Bosh because “I’m uh… not so strong.” If it doesn’t work out as a player, I like his chances of joining the ESPN NBA announcing team. (Giblin)

8:07 – Felt bad for Jonas during that interview. He was more than uncomfortable up there, literally begging the reporter to just wrap things up. (Mayo)

8:12– I had some doubts with the Wizards picking Jan Vesely. Then I saw his girlfriend. I know one of his strengths is decision making. DAMN. (Giblin)

8:13 – He plays with fire and brings that same fire to his relationship. Did you see Jan just dive into that makeout after he got picked? Seriously though this kid’s highlight tape is pretty insane. Watching John Wall get out and run with Vesely is going to be fun. (Mayo)

8: 20 – BISMACK! I like the pick. Guy comes into the lead with a goal of leading the league in blocks in rebounds. You NEED a guy like that on your team to win–a guy who relishes in the dirty work rather than just doing it because he has to. (Mayo)

8:30 – Jimmer picked 10th by the Bucks through Sacramento. The way the NBA does trades on draft day is so stupid. Jimmer is talking about how he can’t wait to play with Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins while wearing a Bucks hat. So stupid. Just let the trades go through and have the actual teams make the picks.

8:32 – Second, third, and fourth that one. I don’t understand it all. Is it so people will keep watching or something to see the trades announced? It’s just a head-scratcher. (Mayo)

8: 37 – Klay Thompson to the Warriors. Is there any possible way Monta Ellis doesn’t get traded at this point? (Mayo)

8:45 – Jazz get Burks. Great pick here. It fills a need and in my opinion they got the best player available. If I’m a Western conference team, I fear Utah in three years. They’ll figure out the point guard position, and Harris is fine for now. Plus, now you figure they have trade assets in either Milsap or Al Jefferson, given that they just acquired Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter in the past two years to play the 4 and 5 position. If Gordon Hayward can give them anything, they could be dangerous sooner rather than later. (Mayo)

8:49 – Wow. Markieff ahead of Marcus…the lesser of the twins according to every draft expert…shows what they (and I) know. (Giblin)

8:55 – The interview with Marcus was one of the funniest moments I can remember in any pro draft. “I’ll just send him some flowers or fruit or something…” I wish we could have seen those two team up in the league. (Mayo)

9:04 – Kawhi Leonard’s hand are HUGE. But man, you need your mom to see all of your games? Momma’s boy.(Giblin)

9:10 – Knicks on the clock. Some size makes a lot of sense. Ronny Turiaf is their starting center. Enough said. (Giblin)

9:14 – Iman Shumpert to the Knicks. Umm he’s athletic and can play defense but Ronny Turiaf remains their starting center. Donnie Walsh goes out with an F. (Giblin)

9:16 – What big men are available though to take there? Teams love Shumpert’s upside, and you know D’Antoni wants to run a high octane offense and Shumpert definitely can be lethal in transition. (Mayo)

9:18– Absolutely love the Wizards draft now. Singleton is the best perimeter defender in the draft and the Wizards have to play some of the best wing players in the planet quite often: Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, Hedo Turkoglu, etc. (Giblin)

9:19 – Agreed, and their personnel is going to be one that likes to RUN. They might not be that good, but they should be pretty fun to watch. I think Singleton is going to make teams sorry for passing on him. (Mayo)

9:25 – Bobcats are another draft I really like, getting Biyombo, Kemba, and Harris so far. Probably no stars, but guys who fit in and I think can be long-term starters on that team. Tobias Harris I think is going to surprise some people. If Tennessee wasn’t such a mess this year he may have gotten more national publicity, but the kid can really play. He does a little bit of everything and you need guys like that in the NBA to fill out your roster. (Mayo)

9:45 – The last four picks have been relatively uninteresting. The T’Wolves (20) and Rockets (23) go the Euro route, while the Blazers (21) take Nolan Smith WAY earlier than anyone expected. Smith is a solid player who brings ball handling ability and toughness on both ends, but with Reggie Jackson, Marshon Brooks, and Jordan Hamilton still on the board, I’m surprised. Faried to the Nuggets at 22 was a perfect fit personality-wise I thought. (Mayo)

9:50 – Are the Thunder the team that promised Reggie Jackson a spot? We’ll find out soon…(crossing fingers) (Giblin)

9:53 – Who knows if they promised it to him, but they took him. Not sure exactly where he fits on OKC given the fact that they seemed comfortable with their current four-guard rotation, but Jackson probably was the best player available here. (Mayo)

9: 56 – There are some intriguing prospects left at the end of the first round, but people seem to be losing interest in the crowd. The disdain for Stern seems to be more faint than before, so you know people are getting tired. (Mayo)

9:57 – Marshon Brooks to the Celtics! Celtics get great value here, and Brooks is going to be able to develop (a jump shot) behind two greats in Ray Allen and Paul Pierce for a few years. Win, win, if you ask me. (Mayo)

10:10 – The last three picks: 26. Jordan Hamilton to the Mavs, 27. JuJuan Johnson to the Nets, 28. Norris Cole to the Bulls, all look to be on the move to different teams. How terrible is this rule that the NBA doesn’t announce trades until later in the night? Explain to me how it makes any sense….Anyone? (Mayo)

10:17 – Cory Joseph (Spurs) and Jimmy Butler (Bulls) round out the end of the first round. (Mayo)

10:18 – Cory Joseph in the first round? That’s three Longhorns in the first round. Man…that’s a bad sign for Rick Barnes who hasn’t been to a Sweet 16 in, what 5 years? (Giblin)

For a draft that was pegged as a poor draft at the top, I see a lot of value in the second and third tiers of the first round. The upside of a lot of these guys isn’t as high as some years, but I think most of these guys will stick and become good rotation players in the league. There is something to be said for that. We just witnessed an NBA Finals in which the team with all the top-end talent lost to a team with a better supporting cast.

My rapid reaction would be that the Jazz, Wizards, and Bobcats were the big winners of this draft, at least in the first round. A lot of that has to do with having multiple picks, but mostly because of who they picked. More on that later.